PROTEIN PROFILING EMPLOYING CAPILLARY-ELECTROPHORESIS WITH DENDRIMERSAS PSEUDOSTATIONARY PHASE MEDIA

The effects of anionic and cationic dendrimers as buffer additives on electropherograms of chicken sarcoplasmic proteins were examined. Star burst poly(amidoamine) dendrimers of generation GO (cationic), 0.5, 1. 5, 2.5 and 3.5 (anionic) were used in the concentration range of 10(-5 )% to 1% g/ml. Anionic dendrimers, over the concentration range 10(-5) % to 0.1% g/ml, had a small effect on separation currents, which allow s for tuning of selectivity and resolution over a wide range of dendri mer concentration with minimal contribution to buffer conductance and thus Joule heating. The resolution of protein electropherograms improv ed as a function of anionic dendrimer concentration and generation wit h a small effect on analysis times. A maximum of 10 components were id entified in <10 min in the presence of 10(-4)% g/ml G2.5 dendrimer. Im proved resolution was also observed in the presence of 0.001% g/ml cat ionic GO as compared to buffers with no dendrimeric additives. Analysi s times however were in excess of 40 min. Although improved protein pr ofiles were obtained in the presence of dendrimers separation efficien cies however were quite low (13000-76000 theoretical plates). (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.